


Down to the Wire

by killerweasel



Series: The Harrowed and the Haunted [6]
Category: Good Omens (TV Series)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:13:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25463773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: It's not a very good plan, but it gets the job done.
Relationships: Beelzebub/Dagon/Gabriel (Good Omens)
Series: The Harrowed and the Haunted [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797133
Kudos: 16





	Down to the Wire

Title: Down to the Wire  
Fandom: Good Omens (TV Series)  
Characters: Dagon, Gabriel  
Pairings: Beelzebub/Dagon/Gabriel  
Word Count: 1,800  
Rating: R  
A/N: After Episode 6.  
Summary: It's not a very good plan, but it gets the job done. 

"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say and you have said a ton of bullshit over the years." Dagon paced back and forth in front of the bed. "It could injure you permanently. I'm not talking about this corporation. What it does will show up in all your future bodies. I've used it on angels lower than you. Fuck, I've used it on a couple of your level and they were all reduced to pleading and begging messes in less than a day."

"I already talked it over with Beelzebub. She thought it might actually help me if I ever end up getting captured by Princes or Dukes. They're not going to use Hellfire, that's too risky. It'll be Unholy wire and a few other things." He reached out, snagging her wrist as she passed. "Beelzebub said you're the best at using it. Dagon, I trust you."

"I know that!" Her hands clenched into fists. "This would be hurting you on purpose, Gabriel. Even a small amount of it can... You're not going to understand until it happens. Believe me, the next time Beelzebub comes back to the surface, we are going to have a very long discussion about this." She threw her arms in the air. "I won't do it here. It'll taint the place. I want you to be absolutely sure about this."

"I'm sure." He rubbed his thumb over the pulse in her wrist. "I just need to know what it can do. I need to be prepared."

"Fine." She snapped her fingers.

\---

"Where are we?" Gabriel looked around. They seemed to be in some sort of dungeon, though the it had clearly seen better days.

"What's above us used to be a church until they corrupted it themselves by harming innocents down here. If you concentrate hard enough, you can still hear the screams." She ran a hand through her hair. "I come here sometimes when I really need vent. I can scream and no one can hear me. Nearest town is at least thirty minutes from here. You're going to scream, Gabriel, and we can scream far louder than any human."

There was a locked wooden box on what might have been a table a century ago. Gabriel frowned at it. He could feel something inside. Straining his ears, he actually heard a soft scraping sound. "Do you hear something?"

"That's the Unholy wire, Gabriel. It knows you're here. It's hungry. It's always hungry." She shuddered. "Before we do this, I need you to understand I am only opening the box because you asked me to. I am going to use the smallest amount I have. If you can handle it, we might try more. Whatever we end up using, you're going to bleed. You're going to suffer. If it gets to be too much, you need to tell me. Don't be an ass."

"Okay." Some of the color had drained from Gabriel's face. "Dagon, if you don't want to do this, if it's going to hurt you, we can just leave."

"I'll deal. I always do. They call me 'Master of Torments' along with a few other titles. I am very, very good at what I do." Dagon shook her head. "Last chance to back out."

"Not happening."

"Find a spot and sit down. I'll start with your right hand." She walked over to the box, stuck a claw into the lock, and twisted it open. The scratching sound Gabriel had heard grew louder, more frenzied. "It can smell an angel."

Gabriel sat down on the cold stone floor. He could feel sweat breaking out all over his skin and had to fight down the urge to flee. He swallowed a couple of times as he tried to calm himself.

When Dagon turned around, she wasn't holding anything in her hands. The wire was hanging around her neck like a snake. It rubbed on her skin in an almost cat-like manner. "I didn't create the wire. We're fairly certain it's the result of Lucifer coming out of the Lake of Sulfur. He was so much more powerful than we were. When his Holy essence grew twisted and tainted, all sorts of... creatures fell from his mangled wings. The wire is alive."

The new information was almost enough to make Gabriel lose his nerve. "Can you control it enough to keep it from doing anything so I can see it up close?"

"Maybe. As long as it gets to feed at some point, it should co-operate." She ran a finger down the length of the wire. "Do you know what it really wants to eat?"

"I honestly didn't even know it was a thing until Beelzebub mentioned it last week." He felt himself tense up as Dagon grew closer. She had her hand wrapped tightly around the end of the wire. "I have to assume it feds on blood."

"Flesh and blood aren't enough to make it satisfied." Her other hand stroked the tip of the wire. A tiny mouth opened on the end of it, jet-black tongue flicking into the air. "It devours your essence, your very Grace. That's why it's so fucking dangerous, Gabriel. Enough of it can cut you off from your Grace, keep your powers bound, make you completely and utterly helpless. No healing, no rest, and no recovery while it is inside. And only a few of us are strong enough to get it back out again without destroying the body it has attached to."

He stared down at the hungry mouth of the wire. A small drop of black ooze fell from its lips onto the skin of his arm. The ooze burned where it touched. He yelped in surprise. The skin was now smoking and the area around it soon looked infected.

"Don't touch it or you'll spread it to other places. I can put the wire back if you want to stop. We can go home." The wire hissed at her, nipping at her fingers. "Hush, you little monster."

Ignoring the spreading burn in his arm, Gabriel straightened up. "Do it."

The wire moved faster than Gabriel could blink. One second it was in Dagon's hands, the next, it was wrapped around his arm. It slid along his skin, coiling until his fingers tingled. With a loud hiss, the wire dove into the hole in his arm, burrowing until the majority of it was inside. The pain was excruciating. Gabriel screamed as his arm burned from the inside out. He could actually see it moving under the skin, hear it feeding, and feel every single inch as it went deeper. In a haze of pain, Dagon's voice reached his ears.

"Imagine what you're feeling in your arm taking place in your entire body. The longer the wire, the more damage it inflicts. If the demon using it is as strong as I am, they can control exactly where it hurts and how much." Dagon twisted her fingers and the pain almost vanished. "I can stop now, if you want."

Panting harshly between his teeth, Gabriel blinked the sweat from his eyes. His stomach gave a flip and he was worried he might be sick. "Hurts."

"Of course it does. There's a living metal snake inside of your arm, budgie." She reached out, resting her hand on his cheek. "Do you want me to stop? I can show you what it's really capable of, what I'm capable of. I know you're not going to look at me the same afterwards."

"We already came this far. Might as well show me everything."

With a sad smile on her face, Dagon took a step back. Then she spread her fingers. "So be it. Pain first and then you'll feel it cut you off from your Grace."

The pain Gabriel had been feeling previously doubled and then tripled. He could feel the wire spreading out in all directions, latching into muscle and bone. It writhed under his skin as it moved down towards his fingers. He lost control of his hand. His entire arm felt almost disconnected from the rest of his body, yet he could feel fresh agony.

He screamed himself hoarse. Then he screamed until he could taste blood in his throat. Dagon would give him a moment or two before moving the wire again. He was always on the verge of passing out, but she made sure it didn't happen. Through it all, he could hear her talking, reassuring him it would be over soon, that he would be able to heal, that everything she did could be repaired.

Suddenly, his entire corporation felt differently. It was as if he was trapped inside of a bag of flesh instead of the body he was so used to. He reached for his Grace and couldn't find it. He started to panic. The hole in his arm where the wire had entered was now leaking a mix of gold and crimson. The sight of his own angelic blood, dripping onto the stone floor was his breaking point.

"Stop. Please make it stop. I can't. Dagon, I can't."

"You did very well, Gabriel." Dagon knelt down in front of him. "Sleep now. No more pain."

The last thing he saw before darkness pulled him down was Dagon leaning in to kiss his forehead.

\---

When Gabriel opened his eyes, he felt completely and utterly drained, but the pain was gone. He was back in their bed at home, resting on some pillows. His arm was propped up and wrapped in layers of bandages. Dagon was sitting on a chair by the window, looking out into the yard.

"I took it out while you were unconscious. It's locked back in the box with the rest I have." She got up from the chair with her arms wrapped around her body. "You should have full use of your arm again in a few days. No amount of miracles will fix the damage it did. You have to heal on your own. I did what I could, then stitched everything closed."

"Come here." He patted the spot on the bed next to him. At first he wasn't sure if she'd do it. Then she sat on the very edge of the bed with her back to him. Reaching out with his good hand, he began to gently stroke the place between where her wings would be. She gradually relaxed and eventually leaned into his touch.

"I've never used it on anyone I gave a shit about before." With a sigh, she sprawled her body down on the bed, resting her head on his chest. She made sure not to jostle his wounded arm. "Might end up with nightmares about it. If I do, you'll wake me up, right?"

"Always."


End file.
